A/N: Okay, I know I'm working on something else already, but this is something I had to do. A friend of mine named Helena died this past Friday and this is dedicated to her.

She was only sixteen years old. She died in a house fire, saving her seven year old cousin, who was home alone with a neglectful babysitter. The house caught fire when the babysitter was cooking dinner, and the babysitter ran outside instead of grabbing the kid(Tony) from his bed upstairs(he was sleeping) first. So Helena, who lived next door, called the emergency number then ran over to find out her cousin was still upstairs. So instead of waiting for the firefighters like she should of, she ran into the house that was already on fire in a number of places(the house was made of wood... note the word "was") and ran up the stairs and into his bedroom. She took no precautions, such as wrapping a wet cloth around her mouth and nose or even ducking under the smoke, and, you know how fire and wood produces carbon monoxide? Yea. She grabbed the kid out of his bed and ran back downstairs. She got out with quite a few burns(only one was a third degree) and CO poisoning. The firefighters didn't arrive until thirty minutes later. Apparently Helena had though everyone was out of the house and had told them so, so they thought they could take their time getting there.

She died... I'm not sure what time exactly, but it was Tuesday. But her death didn't go in vain-Tony survived.

Some of you are probably thinking, "That makes her an idiot." Yes, I know as well as anyone else that, in the case of fires, you're supposed to wait for the firefighters, but he would have died by the time they got there. She sacrificed herself in order to save him... and to me, that makes all the difference.

Helena loved the Sonic series, too. Her favorite was always Espio. This is one of the things we actually bonded over, other than our extreme dislike of skirts and dresses and makeup. We bonded over Espio in particular. She really loved him(as a character-she wasn't like IN LOVE with him) and so I decided to do this.

I usually refuse to do anything with CanonxOC, but this is different. I decided that, when someone special to me dies, I will anthro-ize them into characters, though not exactly fursonas. They will have the same personality, but their colours will consist of their favorites, not their real colours. They have no added abilities, either... They are just.. them.

And so, this is dedicated to my friend, Helena, who has now escaped the wretches of this Earth and returned to paradise.

Disclaimer: Sonic & Co. belong to SEGA. Helena belongs to no one; she is a free soul.

Only three FCs, and not really FCs... Babysitter's name has been changed...

-Let-The-Memorial-Begin-

It was summer when he met the young fox. She was a year younger than him, and her fur was black as the midnight on a night of the new moon.

Her eyes were blue and her hair was the same shade as her fur and shoulder length. Her shirt, an off-the-shoulder half-long-sleeved shirt, was green and her jeans were blue. She wore plain tennis shoes and gray soles. Her muzzle, ear-tips, and tail tip were snow white, contrasting greatly with her fur.

She didn't have Rouge's figure or sense of fashion, but she was cute in her own way. In fact, that's all she could possibly be-cute. She wasn't beautiful or sexy or anything like that-she was cute. Not Amy-cute, just... cute.

Her smile was slightly lopsided and her eyes had a spark of michief in the. Her movements weren't anything like Rouge's or Amy's. She walked almost like a guy, just with a feminine touch. She wasn't afraid to introduce herself to him, not like a lot of girls were. She walked right up to him and introduced herself, and there were no other girls in sight-it couldn't have been a dare.

"My name's Helena. Who're you?"

She spoke so casually, without any stutter or shyness, he just felt the need to get to know this... unique... girl.

"My name is Espio."

Oddly enough, just these words began a new-but casual- friendship. She accepted him for who he was, and he accepted her. She never pressured him to change-in fact, she supported him in whatever he wanted to do. She liked him just the way he was.

They became closer friends over the next two years, and instead of sending emails or calling each other every day, they wrote to each other. They lived in different cities, so it was excusable. When they did hang out, it was usually with the rest of the Chaotix as well.

Then, all of a sudden, he heard nothing from her for about a month. No letter, no call, no visit... nothing.

Espio knew better not to worry, but as the one month turned into two, and the two turned into three, he began to anyway.

He stepped off the bus in the city she lived in. It was a nice little city-there were no skyscrapers like there was in Station Square. In fact, the city would more accurately be a town.

He walked down the sidewalk until he reached a street called "Maple Street." He knew from the addresses he wrote on the letters that this was the street Helen lived on.

He began walking down the street, looking at the addresses. Night was falling fast, and the silence on the street was overwhelming.

"Vector and Charmy are probably wondering where I am. Knowing them, they probably never saw the note..."

Espio stopped as he came upon the address and looked at the house. It was a modest ground-floor white house. It might have had an attic, but Espio never found out if it did or not.

Suddenly, someone ran out of the house next door. Espio looked over at the girl, who couldn't have been more than eighteen years old. She was a bright pink bat. She was in a right terror, and looking at the house, Espio could see why.

The house was a not-so-modest two-story wooden house. The wood looked polished. However, from the kitchen window, red and blue flames ate at the wood and curtains.

Within a few seconds, Helena was outside. She paused and looked at Espio in slight surprised before saying a rushed greeting and dashing over to the panicking girl.

"Leslie! Leslie! Where's Tony? Where's my cousin?"

Leslie stopped shouting for a second, then began shouting about him being in the house, having been asleep.

Helena suddenly began running towards the house that was quickly going up in flames. Espio grabbed her arm.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Helena looked back at him. It was maybe the first time he had ever seen tears in her eyes. He couldn't remember ever seeing even a little sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Espio, he's my cousin, I can't let him die!"

She yanked her arm from his slightly-slackened grip and began running down the pathway before pausing. She turned around, ran back up to him, and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Espy, I really am. I didn't write because I was arguing with myself. I found that I actually sorta like you more than a friend."

Espio was stunned at those words. She gave him a quick kiss to the cheek before releasing him again and running down the walkway and running into the house.

Espio never knew what she went through or saw as she ran up the stairs to find her cousin. All he knows is she was in there for a full fifteen minutes-fifteen agonizing minutes of her breathing in smoke and Carbon Monoxide.

When she finally stumbled out of the house, the firefighters still weren't there. She was holding a little fox child. The child was clinging to her.

Espio noticed immediately how weak the girl was. The thing he noticed next was the wet cloth Helena held against the child's mouth and nose to keep out the smoke and CO. She had nothing to protect herself against any of it.

She handed her cousin, Tony, to her parents. She then walked over to Espio. She tried to smile before she finally collapsed.

Espio went quickly over to her and knelt down beside her, where she silently stared up at him.

"Helena? You'll be okay... you know that, right?"

Helena didn't answer. She simply closed her eyes.

Then her mother came running up, crying. She pushed Espio aside when he was about to pick her up to hurry her to the nearest doctor's office.

It took him at least another fifteen minutes to get Helena's mother away from her. As he finally got her off of Helena, the firefighters began arriving.

"Took them long enough..."

Espio took no notice of the firefighters as he felt for a pulse.

Nothing.

The funeral was on Saturday. Espio was asked to give to eulogy, as it seemed that no one knew her better.

He didn't cry. Espio just didn't cry. Sure, it was painful, but he didn't cry. He didn't right after her death, and he didn't at her funeral.

But maybe... at nights, when he relived that moment again and again in his dreams, just maybe...

"She is in a better place now. She is freed from the wretches of this world and lives on in another, perhaps even watching me now. I won't let her down by crying. I know she wouldn't want me to cry for her."

And that's exactly as it happened. He didn't cry for her. One might say... he couldn't cry for her.

She stared at him as he got off the bus returning home. She smiled as she saw his eyes were dry, just as she'd hoped they would be. She turned to return to her home up above. As she went, she spoke...

"Don't cry for me. Don't dream of me in my last minutes. Don't dwell over not stopping me. Don't blame yourself.

"Just remember me, and I will be happy forever."

Be Free and Forever Happy in the Immortal Kingdom of Love and Grace;

Let Not Death Seperate Us, but Bring Us Closer Together,

And When Finally Comes My Time and We See the Other,

Let Not Tears of Joy and Sadness Overtake our Senses, but Tears of Love

And Forgiveness, For Those Are the Only Tears Worthy of Our Time,

And Not Showers of Gold Surround Us, But Showers of The Other's Happiness.

Rest in Peace, Helena, and Remember; We All Love You and

We Will Miss you; And Though You Are Beyond the Wall of Life,

Our Friendship Remains, Solid and Strong in the Light of Our Love;

But Not to be Mistaken With Anger and Sadness; Do Not Take Blame

For What Has Happened; It Was No Mistake That You Should Be Blessed

With a Heart so Soft and Pure, That You Were Willing to Give It For Another.

Rest In Everlasting Peace and Let Nothing Disturb You In Your Quest of Eternal Happiness.

I'll See You Again Someday.

Love,

Shirle